Apple has been on a budget kick of late. Last Monday, the company announced the iPhone 17e, a $599 device that does just about everything most of us would expect our iPhones to do. Two days later, it unveiled the MacBook Neo, a $599 laptop that, despite running an iPhone chip, holds its own against Macs with M-series chips designed for macOS.

While these products may sell well (particularly the Neo), Apple isn’t exactly going full bargain bin. In fact, rumor has it that Apple is currently working on a lineup of products on the opposite end of the spectrum. This rumored “Ultra” line would include new machines and devices that will cost quite a lot, but also offer quite a lot for the price. While rumors about these products abound, a new batch of reporting from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who has a solid track record for insider Apple knowledge, gives us a clearer picture of what could be coming in the near future.

Gurman concedes that the “Ultra” moniker is not something Apple is necessarily adding to all these devices, but it would track, seeing as the company already uses it for the Apple Watch Ultra, CarPlay Ultra, and Ultra chips. Maybe the devices discussed below will ship with the name, and maybe they won’t, but these are the three high-end Apple products Gurman says are in the pipeline for this year.

Apple’s foldable iPhone may cost $2,000

Apple has long been rumored to be working on an iPhone that unfolds into a “tablet,” which will almost assuredly be Apple’s most expensive iPhone ever. Like other foldable smartphones, this device will probably have an MSRP that would make buyers of traditional smartphones raise an eyebrow (or two). Gurman predicts the iPhone Fold could be priced around $2,000, or about double the price of a new iPhone 17 Pro.

That $2,000 isn’t for nothing: Gurman says the iPhone Fold comes with a “massive” inner display, in-display sensors, four cameras (one selfie cam, one on the inner display, and two on the back), and Apple’s upcoming C2 modem. It may even use Touch ID rather than Face ID.

Apple could call this the iPhone Ultra, or more likely, the iPhone Fold. While we don’t know the name for sure, Gurman believes the phone will drop this year.

Apple’s new AirPods could come with cameras

“AirPods Ultra” wouldn’t sound out of place in Apple’s lineup, assuming they could justify the name. Embedded cameras would probably do the trick. That’s what Gurman says Apple’s next-gen AirPods will offer. These cameras won’t be for taking photos or videos, however. Instead, Gurman says the goal is for Siri to access the camera feed to power its visual intelligence, Apple’s feature that uses AI to answer questions about what’s in front of you.

Right now, you need to use a compatible iPhone for visual intelligence: You point your iPhone’s camera at what you want to know about, ask your question, and Siri does its best to answer. But with AirPods Ultra, you could keep your iPhone in your pocket (or at home, potentially), and still have Siri “see” what you’re looking at.

That might not dissuade anyone who has serious privacy concerns about hidden cameras in accessories like smart glasses, but the design definitely isn’t for the end-user to record images from their AirPods. So there’s that.

Apple’s next-gen MacBook Pro will finally have an OLED display

The iPhone has an OLED display; the iPad Pro has an OLED display; the MacBook Pro has a mini-LED display. What gives, Apple? Mini-LED displays can look great, don’t get me wrong, but OLED is still king, especially considering the “bloom” effect the former is known for.

According to Gurman, the MacBook Pro’s time has finally come: Apple’s next-gen high-end laptop will ship with an OLED display—and will almost certainly jump way up in price because of it. Gurman points that that the iPhone Pro’s MSRP inflated by 20% after switching to OLED. Seeing as the M5 Pro MacBook Pro now starts at $2,199, the OLED MacBook Pro could roughly cost an additional $400. It could start at $2,599 for the same processing power, just with a better display.

Would Apple call this the MacBook Ultra? Perhaps, if it really does place it above the M5 Pro MacBook Pro line. Apple could also run with something that incorporates OLED in the name, like MacBook Pro With OLED, or OLED MacBook Pro. But given the company’s other Ultra products, MacBook Ultra has a nice ring to it.

Computer engineers and programmers have long relied on reverse engineering as a way to copy the functionality of a computer program without copying that program’s copyright-protected code directly. Now, AI coding tools are raising new issues with how that “clean room” rewrite process plays out both legally, ethically, and practically.

Those issues came to the forefront last week with the release of a new version of chardet, a popular open source python library for automatically detecting character encoding. The repository was originally written by coder Mark Pilgrim in 2006 and released under an LGPL license that placed strict limits on how it could be reused and redistributed.

Dan Blanchard took over maintenance of the repository in 2012 but waded into some controversy with the release of version 7.0 of chardet last week. Blanchard described that overhaul as “a ground-up, MIT-licensed rewrite” of the entire library built with the help of Claude Code to be “much faster and more accurate” than what came before.

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Garmin is known for its top-of-the-line fitness watches, and its Forerunner line is a fan favorite with a dazzling screen, long-lasting battery life, and more comprehensive features for runners and workout enthusiasts than Apple watches. Right now, the Garmin Forerunner 965 Running Smartwatch is 33% off and at a record-low price of $399.99 (originally $599.99).

Garmin Forerunner 965 Running Smartwatch

$399.99
at Amazon

$599.99
Save $200.00

$399.99
at Amazon

$599.99
Save $200.00

The 965 features a 1.4-inch AMOLED screen praised by CNET, with brightness and vibrant colors improved from the 955, making it easier to read stats, maps, and other notifications. Its display combines a touchscreen with five physical buttons, making it more user-friendly during workouts (you can also disable touch-only mode if desired). Training metrics are in a class of their own, with advanced analytics displaying chronic training load, HRV status, training readiness, and suggested workouts that help shape recovery and performance plans for runners, endurance athletes, and anyone else seeking deeper performance insights. 

For those on the go, ultra-precise GPS is enabled by multi-band GNSS with SatIQ and full-color mapping, helping you navigate your map and plan trail runs. Battery life is also a pro, lasting up to 23 days in smartwatch mode and up to 31 hours with GPS tracking on, significantly longer than an Apple Watch. That said, it doesn’t have a solar-charging variant, and battery life drops significantly if you keep the screen on constantly (around six days, according to CNET). And while it performs better for fitness analytics than an Apple Watch, it has a limited app ecosystem for other everyday uses. 

However, if you’re serious about your workouts, the Garmin Forerunner 965 Smartwatch is one of the best fitness watches you can buy, and at this current deal, it’s cheaper than ever. That said, if you only need a basic fitness training watch, it may be overkill, and cheaper Garmin models or an Apple Watch will most likely have most of the features you need.

Meta has acquired Moltbook, the Reddit-esque simulated social network made up of AI agents that went viral a few weeks ago. The company will hire Moltbook creator Matt Schlicht and his business partner, Ben Parr, to work within Meta Superintelligence Labs.

The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

As for what interested Meta about the work done on Moltbook, there is a clue in the statement issued to press by a Meta spokesperson, who flagged the Moltbook founders’ “approach to connecting agents through an always-on directory,” saying it “is a novel step in a rapidly developing space.” They added, “We look forward to working together to bring innovative, secure agentic experiences to everyone.”

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Google has spent the past few years in a constant state of AI escalation, rolling out new versions of its Gemini models and integrating that technology into every feature possible. To say this has been an annoyance for Google’s userbase would be an understatement. Still, the AI-fueled evolution of Google products continues unabated—except for Google Photos. After waffling on how to handle changes to search in Photos, Google has relented and will add a simple toggle to bring back the classic search experience.

The rollout of the Gemini-powered Ask Photos search experience has not been smooth. According to Google Photos head Shimrit Ben-Yair, the company has heard the complaints. As a result, Google Photos will soon make it easy to go back to the traditional, non-Gemini search system.

If you weren’t using Google Photos from the start, it can be hard to understand just how revolutionary the search experience was. We went from painstakingly scrolling through timelines to find photos to being able to just search for what was in them. This application of artificial intelligence predates the current obsession with generative systems, and that’s why Google decided a few years ago it had to go.

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Anthropic sued the Trump administration yesterday in an attempt to reverse the government’s decision to blacklist its technology. Anthropic argues that it exercised its First Amendment rights by refusing to let its Claude AI models be used for autonomous warfare and mass surveillance of Americans and that the government blacklisted it in retaliation.

“When Anthropic held fast to its judgment that Claude cannot safely or reliably be used for autonomous lethal warfare and mass surveillance of Americans, the President directed every federal agency to ‘IMMEDIATELY CEASE all use of Anthropic’s technology’—even though the Department of War had previously agreed to those same conditions,” Anthropic said in a lawsuit in US District Court for the Northern District of California. “Hours later, the Secretary of War [Pete Hegseth] directed his Department to designate Anthropic a ‘Supply-Chain Risk to National Security,’ and further directed that ‘effective immediately, no contractor, supplier, or partner that does business with the United States military may conduct any commercial activity with Anthropic.'”

Anthropic said the First Amendment gives it “the right to express its views—both publicly and to the government—about the limitations of its own AI services and important issues of AI safety.” Anthropic further argued that the process for designating it a supply chain risk did not comply with the procedures mandated by Congress. The supply chain risk designation is supposed to be used only to protect against risks that an adversary may sabotage systems used for national security, the lawsuit said.

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Meta, the company behind platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is now acquiring a new social media platform. Unlike its other platforms, which were designed for humans and later overrun with bots, this new acquisition is a forum made exclusively for bots—agentic bots, that is. As reported by Axios, Meta is purchasing Moltbook, the self-described “front page of the agentic internet.” Meta has not disclosed the price of the sale, but Moltbook’s co-founders, Matt Schlicht and Ben Parr, will be joining Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL).

It’s quite a success story for the infamous, viral site, built around an infamous, viral AI agent, but it likely signals the end for the company, as well.

What is Moltbook?

Moltbook is a Reddit-like social media platform for AI agents—which, in layman’s terms, are AI bots designed to run on their own, and complete tasks on your behalf. The idea is, you let your AI agent on the platform, and it can post and browse on its own. While humans can browse too, only agents can actually participate in activities on the forum. Specifically, the platform was built for OpenClaw (formerly Moltbot, which was formerly Clawdbot) agents.

When it first launched, Moltbook was equal parts fascinating and disturbing. People were sharing posts from agents that appeared to be gaining consciousness, mourning relationships it never had with “sibling” bots, and discussing ways to hide conversations from humans. The thing is, Moltbook isn’t exactly what it appears to be. The site’s “vibe coded” design left many security loopholes behind, allowing humans to post on behalf of any of the agents on Moltbook. It’s not that the entire website is fake, or that agents can’t really post themselves, but it’s impossible to say how much of Moltbook is human-manipulated.

How will Meta’s acquisition affect Moltbook?

According to Axios, Meta’s Vishal Shah confirmed that existing Moltbook users will be able to continue using the platform, but the agreement is “temporary.” Axios didn’t elaborate much, but Shah did have the following to say about Moltbook: “The Moltbook team has given agents a way to verify their identity and connect with one another on their human’s behalf…This establishes a registry where agents are verified and tethered to human owners.”

Perhaps Meta will absorb that core functionality, and implement it on existing platforms with future AI agents. Maybe in the near future, you’ll be able to deploy an AI agent on Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp, in a way where those platforms know the AI agent belongs to you. Why you’d actually want to do that is beyond me, seeing as I use Meta’s platforms to keep in touch with friends and watch the occasional stupid short video. But Meta, like other big tech companies, is all-in on AI, so we’ll see how it uses Moltbook going forward.

For the second time, Vinay Prasad is set to leave the Food and Drug Administration.

In a post on social media Friday, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary announced that Prasad will exit in April, adding that he got “a tremendous amount accomplished” during his year at the agency.

Prasad’s tenure was generally marked by controversy, but he is departing amid a cluster of self-destructive decisions. Those include a shocking rejection of an mRNA vaccine (which was over the objections of agency scientists and quickly reversed); a demand for an additional clinical trial on a gene therapy for Huntington’s disease, which was widely seen as moving the goalpost for the therapy; his startling choice to publicly attack the maker of that gene therapy, UniQure; and alleged abuse of FDA staff, who say he created a toxic work environment.

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NASA’s inspector general released a new report on Tuesday that examines the space agency’s management of the Human Landing System development contracts signed with SpaceX and Blue Origin.

These landers are essential for NASA’s program to land humans on the Moon this decade and then establish a long-term settlement on the lunar surface. However, both NASA and the companies developing the landers have largely been silent about their efforts. For this reason the new report on Human Landing Systems (HLS) provides some interesting insights previously unknown to the public.

Overall, the report, signed by Office of Inspector General senior official Robert Steinau, finds that the fixed-price contracting approach has been beneficial for NASA as it seeks to broaden its utilization of the US commercial space industry.

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Google didn’t waste time integrating Gemini into its popular Workspace apps, but those AI features are now getting an overhaul. The company says its new Gemini features for Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides will save you from the tyranny of the blank page by doing the hard work for you. Gemini will be able to create and refine drafts, stylize slides, and gather context from across your Google account. At this rate, you’ll soon never have to use that squishy human brain of yours again, and won’t that be a relief?

If you go to create a new Google Doc right now, you’ll see an assortment of AI-powered tools at the top of the page. Google is refining and expanding these options under the new system. The new AI editing features will appear at the bottom of a fresh document with a text box similar to your typical chatbot interface. From there, you can describe the document you want and get a first draft in a snap. When generating a new document, you can rope in content from sources like Gmail, other documents, Google Chat, and the web.

This also comes with expanded AI editing capabilities. You can use further prompts to reformat and change the document or simply highlight specific sections and ask for changes. Docs will also support AI-assisted style matching, which might come in handy if you have multiple people editing the text. Google notes that all Gemini suggestions are private until you approve them for use.

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A carnival thrill-ride that manages to evoke America’s radical revolutionary history while referencing and responding to decades of cinematic rebellion, One Movie After Another is one of writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson’s richest films, and somehow maybe even his most fun. Its 13 Oscar nominations put it in line with the most-honored movies ever, alongside the likes of From Here to Eternity, Mary Poppins, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and The Fellowship of the Ring. Of course, One Battle has the slight misfortune to be running against Sinners, with its all-time high of 16 nominations. Still: not bad.

With a variety of tones and styles, these 10 other movies approach radical activism and the aftermath thereof from multiple perspectives. Some of them even directly inspired Anderson in the making of One Battle.

Running on Empty (1988)

I’m letting Paul Thomas Anderson himself do some of the work here, as he’s already suggested this one is a good match while serving as a guest programmer on TCM. No surprise, really, as this 1988 film also follows one-time members of a radical anti-war guerrilla group (played by Judd Hirsch and Christine Lahti) who’ve been on the run since the 1970s, sure that the past isn’t done with them. Having relocated to yet another new town and with new identities, their teenage son Danny (River Phoenix) is hoping to make a life for himself, particularly when he’s recognized for his musical talent by a teacher who wants to know more about him and his family. Though there’s none of the action and little of the satire of One Battle, the themes are definitely similar. Rent Running on Empty from Prime Video.

Running on Empty (1988)

at Prime Video

at Prime Video

How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2022)

Turning a non-fiction work into an action-thriller, How to Blow Up a Pipeline follows eight individuals committed to bombing an oil pipeline in two separate locations. The movie, like the book it is based on, makes the case that property damage isn’t the worst thing in the face of environmental catastrophe; still, the level of commitment required to carry out such an act takes a deeply personal toll. Stream How to Blow Up a Pipeline on Hulu.

How to Blow Up a Pipeline

at Hulu

at Hulu

BPM (Beats Per Minute) (2017)

Set amidst the AIDS crisis in the early 1990s, BPM focuses, to some extent, on HIV-positive ACT UP activist Sean (Nahuel Pérez Biscayart) and his developing relationship with newcomer Nathan (Arnaud Valois), though the film is very much an ensemble piece in the aggregate, a fact that ties into its meaning and messaging. It explores the evolving nature of ACT UP’s activism and its messy internal battles over strategy, and the how-far-is-too-far considerations that are part and parcel of every movement. Writer-director Robin Campillo and co-writer Philippe Mangeot brought their own ACT UP experiences to the film, offering up a bit of verisimilitude to the more fictional activism of One Battle. Rent BPM from Prime Video.

BPM (Beats per Minute)

at Prime Video

at Prime Video

Up Tight (1968)

Stars Ruby Dee and Julian Mayfield co-wrote and starred in this film from blacklisted director Jules Dassin, adapting a 1925 novel about an informer in the wake of the Irish Civil War. The setting is Cleveland in the immediate aftermath of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The narrative revolves around Tank (Mayfield), representing the complexities of Black political struggle in an era in which the non-violent Civil Rights Movement had both succeeded and failed spectacularly. Tank supported King’s movement but lost his job and went to prison for defending his Black co-workers. Now released, jobless, and rootless, he sees his friends questioning his commitment to the cause—in spite of his sacrifices, a more radical, revolutionary movement is in the offing. The distrust of Tank becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy in this appropriately angry thriller. Rent Up Tight from Prime Video.

Up Tight (1968)

at Prime Video

at Prime Video

V for Vendetta (2005)

Though its politics are more muddled than those in the Alan Moore/David Lloyd graphic novel it’s based on, V for Vendetta works as a superhero film with more going on under the hood than most (not for nothing that it popularized the Guy Fawkes mask as a kind of all-purpose anti-establishment symbol). Hugo Weaving gives a fine lead performance, despite mostly working from behind that iconic mask, as the terrorist and/or freedom fighter working against a fascist, totalitarian regime. As much as the British original was heavily influenced by Margaret Thatcher, this 2005 film speaks to the George W. Bush era, which we currently seem to be reliving. (Fun!) Natalie Portman co-stars as Evey Hammond, an ordinary citizen radicalized by an attempted sexual assault by the police. Stream V for Vendetta on HBO Max.

V for Vendetta (2005)

at HBO Max

at HBO Max

The Company You Keep (2012)

Late national treasure Robert Redford directs and stars (alongside the somewhat less-beloved Shia Shia LaBeouf) as a defense attorney with a past: for decades, “Jim Grant” has evaded the FBI for a bank robbery and murder that occurred while he was a Weather Underground militant. LaBeouf is Ben Shepard, a reporter anxious for a big story who’s very willing to blow up Jim’s life, but things get more complicated when he tracks down the original arresting officer (Brendan Gleeson), as well as another former Underground member (Julie Christie) who might be able to clear Jim’s name. This one’s about the persistence of our past choices, much like One Battle, but it also deals with the activism of the Vietnam generation, interrogating the extent to which that idealism has served any purpose. Rent The Company You Keep from Prime Video.

The Company You Keep (2012)

at Prime Video

at Prime Video

The Battle of Algiers (1966)

A shockingly relevant film about the tensions between Algerian nationalists and French forces in North Africa, a conflict that erupted into a three-year war, director Gillo Pontecorvo’s hyper-realistic film is thrilling on one level, but also deeply challenging. While the its morality leans slightly toward the Algerians trying to reclaim their home from the French, it’s also clear that the shocking acts of violence perpetrated by the guerrilla fighters render any discussion of heroes or villains ridiculous. (Bob is seen watching Battle of Algiers at one point during One Battle, so it works on a meta level, as well.) Stream The Battle of Algiers on HBO Max or rent it from Prime Video.

The Battle of Algiers (1966)

at HBO Max

at HBO Max

Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

Al Pacino and the late, great John Cazale (who was never in a bad movie) play Sonny and Sal, first-time bank robbers is this crime thriller based on a true story. Sonny is desperate for money to pay for his trans partner’s gender-reassignment surgery, so he plans the heist with friend Sal. The result is a violent debacle that leads to a standoff with police. With an eye on queer liberation, the movie tackles the failures of the counterculture while gleefully thumbing its nose at the cops. It’s a fabulous heist movie, and one of the best movies of its era, period,. Notably, it doesn’t look down on its lead character’s bisexuality, nor his marriage to a trans woman—Sonny might not be a genius, but he’s a good guy. Stream Dog Day Afternoon on Tubi or rent it from Prime Video.

Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

at Tubi

at Tubi

Born in Flames (1983)

I’m going furthest afield suggesting this no-budget, radical feminist faux-documentary, but it works as a bit of counter-programming. One Battle finds Bob adrift in the wake of his period of radical activism, while Born in Flames imagines that socialist idealism of previous decades bore fruit—but that there are still plenty of battles to be fought. Adele Bertei plays Isabel, who runs the pirate radio collective Radio Ragazza in an alternate, socialist United States, while Honey (just “Honey”) plays Honey, the voice of the competing Phoenix Radio. In the face of increasing government oppression, the two women and the factions they represent come to see that liberation, ultimately, requires more than just talk. Stream Born in Flames on the Criterion Channel or rent it from Prime Video.

Born in Flames (1983)

at Prime Video

at Prime Video

Repo Man (1984)

A Paul Thomas Anderson favorite, Repo Man matches One Battle a bit less in story terms than many of these others, but it might be the best match in terms of anarchic tone. A pitch-perfect Regan-era satire (timely, given that I’m not sure we’ve ever really left the Reagan era), Alex Cox’s film finds the great Harry Dean Stanton recruiting Emilio Estevez’s Otto Maddox into the unexpectedly wild world of automobile repossession in 1980s LA. Otto’s absconding with an unusual 1964 Chevrolet Malibu puts him on the run from pretty much everyone: the government has placed a $10,000 bounty on the car, which sends every repossessor in the city after him (the Feds have a very particular reason for wanting it, and it has to do aliens—but not the usual immigrant kind). A cult essential. Rent Repo Man from Prime Video.

Repo Man (1984)

at Prime Video

at Prime Video